A method for operating a building information modeling (BIM) system is provided. The method includes at a BIM server, in response to receiving a save tri-dimensional data command from a client computing device, associatively mapping identification data in each of a building model, a hierarchical structure of building model data, and a Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) spreadsheet and storing a representation of the associative mapping of the identification data for display in at least one of the BIM server and a client computing device in electronic communication with the server over a network.
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1. A method for operating a building information modeling (BIM) system, comprising: at a BIM server, in response to receiving a save data command from a client computing device, associatively mapping identification data in each of a building model, a hierarchical structure of building model data, and a Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) spreadsheet, the associative mapping including embedding a globally unique identifier in data structures in each of the COBie spreadsheet, the building model, and the hierarchical structure of building model data and the building model including a 3-dimensional rendering of a structure with a plurality of selectable objects including one or more of a section, a floor, and a system; and storing a representation of the associative mapping of the identification data for display in at least one of the BIM server and the client computing device in electronic communication with the server over a network.
A Building Information Modeling (BIM) system operates as follows: A BIM server, upon receiving a "save data" command from a client, creates associative mappings between a 3D building model, its hierarchical data structure (sections, floors, systems selectable), and a COBie (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange) spreadsheet. This mapping involves embedding a globally unique identifier (GUID) within the data structures of each – the model, the hierarchy, and the spreadsheet. This associative mapping is then stored and can be displayed on either the BIM server itself or the client device.
2. The method of claim 1 , where the client computing device is a master client computing device and the method further comprises at the master client computing device sending a command to the BIM server requesting alteration of data in the building model.
Building on the previous description, the client device sending the "save data" command is designated a "master" client. This master client has the additional capability of sending commands to the BIM server specifically requesting modifications to the data within the 3D building model. This allows a designated user to initiate changes to the core building design data.
3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising, at the BIM server, altering data in the hierarchical structure of building model data, and the COBie spreadsheet based on the data altered in the building model.
Continuing from the prior description where the master client can request modifications, when the BIM server receives a data alteration request for the 3D building model, it not only modifies the building model, but also automatically updates the corresponding data in both the hierarchical data structure and the COBie spreadsheet. This ensures data consistency across all three components whenever a change is made to the building model itself.
4. The method of claim 1 , where the hierarchical structure of building model data is a hierarchical tree structure with a root value and sub-trees of children, represented as a set of linked nodes.
Expanding on the initial description of the BIM system, the hierarchical data structure representing the building model is organized as a hierarchical tree. This tree structure has a single root value, and branches into sub-trees, each representing a child node. These nodes are linked together to represent the relationships and dependencies within the building model data.
5. The method of claim 1 , where the COBie spreadsheet is color coded according to a predetermined standard.
Focusing on the COBie spreadsheet component, the spreadsheet's cells are color-coded according to a predetermined standard. This color-coding provides a visual representation of the data, likely to highlight specific categories, statuses, or other relevant information as defined by the BIM standard.
6. The method of claim 1 , where the save data command is sent to the BIM server from the client computing device over the Internet.
Regarding network communication, the "save data" command sent from the client device to the BIM server is transmitted over the Internet. This indicates the BIM system is designed for remote access and operation, allowing users to interact with the building model from anywhere with an internet connection.
7. A method for operating a building information modeling (BIM) system, comprising: at a master client computing device, accessing a network-based BIM engine executed on a BIM server; and sending a save data command to the BIM server, the save data command requesting associative mapping between identification data for display in each of a building model, a hierarchical structure of building model data, and a Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) spreadsheet executed via the BIM engine in the BIM server, the associative mapping including embedding a globally unique identifier in data structures in each of the COBie spreadsheet, the building model, and the hierarchical structure of building model data and the building model including a 3-dimensional rendering of a structure with a plurality of selectable objects including one or more of a section, a floor, and a system.
A Building Information Modeling (BIM) system works as follows: A master client accesses a BIM engine hosted on a BIM server over a network. The client sends a "save data" command to the BIM server, requesting the server to create associative mappings between a 3D building model, its hierarchical data structure (sections, floors, systems selectable), and a COBie spreadsheet. This mapping includes embedding a globally unique identifier (GUID) in each of the data structures.
8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising at the master client computing device, receiving a representation of the associative mapping of the identification data from the BIM engine and saving the representation of the associative mapping of the identification data for display.
Building on the previous description, the master client device, after sending the "save data" command, receives a representation of the associative mapping from the BIM engine. This client then saves this representation for later display, allowing the client to visualize the relationships between the building model, its hierarchy, and the COBie data.
9. The method of claim 8 , where the hierarchical structure of building model data is a hierarchical tree structure with a root value and sub-trees of children, represented as a set of linked nodes, the building model includes the 3-dimensional rendering of the structure, and the COBie spreadsheet is a spreadsheet conforming to predetermined standards.
Expanding on the previous description, the hierarchical structure of the building model data is a hierarchical tree with a root value and sub-trees of children, represented as a set of linked nodes. The building model includes the 3-dimensional rendering of the structure, and the COBie spreadsheet is a spreadsheet conforming to predetermined standards.
10. The method of claim 7 , where the building model is a 3-dimensional rendering of a structure and the COBie spreadsheet includes a plurality of cells populated with COBie formatted data.
Expanding on the BIM system description, the building model component is a 3D rendering of a structure, and the COBie spreadsheet component is characterized by having a plurality of cells populated with COBie-formatted data. This emphasizes the standardized data format used within the COBie spreadsheet for building information exchange.
11. A building information modeling (BIM) system comprising: a BIM server providing a network-based BIM engine to a plurality of computing devices over a network; and a client computing device in electronic communication with the BIM server via the network configured to send a save data command to the BIM engine, the save data command configured to request associative mapping between identification data for display in each of a building model, a hierarchical structure of building model data, and a Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) spreadsheet executed via the BIM engine in the BIM server, the associative mapping including embedding a globally unique identifier in data structures in each of the COBie spreadsheet, the building model, and the hierarchical structure of building model data and the building model including a 3-dimensional rendering of a structure with a plurality of selectable objects including one or more of a section, a floor, and a system.
A Building Information Modeling (BIM) system includes a BIM server that provides a network-based BIM engine to multiple client devices. A client device communicates with the BIM server via a network and sends a "save data" command to the BIM engine. This command requests the BIM engine to create associative mappings between a 3D building model, its hierarchical data structure (sections, floors, systems selectable), and a COBie spreadsheet. This mapping includes embedding a globally unique identifier (GUID) in the data structures.
12. The BIM system of claim 11 , where the building model is a 3-dimensional rendering of a structure, the COBie spreadsheet includes a plurality of cells populated with COBie formatted data and the hierarchical structure is a tree structure.
Building on the previous system description, the building model is a 3D rendering, the COBie spreadsheet contains cells filled with COBie-formatted data, and the hierarchical data structure is organized as a tree. This describes the core components of the BIM system and their basic organization.
13. The BIM system of claim 11 , where the client computing device is a master client computing device configured to control the BIM engine.
Expanding on the BIM system description, the client device is designated as a "master" client. This master client is specifically configured to control the BIM engine, giving it administrative or supervisory access to the BIM system.
14. The BIM system of claim 13 , further comprising a slave client computing device in electronic communication with the server, the slave client computing device configured to access the building model, the hierarchical structure of building model data, and the COBie spreadsheet and inhibited from controlling the BIM engine.
Continuing from the previous description, the BIM system also includes a "slave" client device. This slave client can access the building model, hierarchical data, and COBie spreadsheet, but it is specifically prevented from controlling the BIM engine. This suggests a role-based access control scheme, where some users can only view data while others have control privileges.
15. The BIM system of claim 11 , where the network is the Internet.
Focusing on the network communication of the BIM system, the network used for communication between the client and server is the Internet. This indicates that the BIM system is designed for operation over wide area networks, enabling remote collaboration and access.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
September 19, 2014
June 13, 2017
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